Rafael Nadal said it felt "special" to be back on court as the 20-time grand slam champion began his latest comeback with defeat to old foe Andy Murray in Abu Dhabi.
The Spaniard was beaten 6-3 7-5 by Murray at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition event that for the 35-year-old marks an important step towards a full ATP tour return.
Nadal is coming off a year disrupted by the foot injury that caused him to miss Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open, playing just one event after June.
With the Australian Open a month away, there is plenty of work for these two still to do, but this was a feast for the eyes as the multiple grand slam champions jostled hard for supremacy.
Murray is down at 134th in the ATP rankings and continues to battle his own body after hip and groin problems. However, eye-catching wins late in the season against the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe have suggested there might be good times ahead for him in the new year.
Here the Scot broke Nadal's serve to 15 in the sixth game of the first set to seize the initiative. Nadal appeared to be finding a familiar rhythm in the second set, hitting some tremendous clean winners, and at 0-30 down at 4-4 he serve-volleyed twice in succession to get out of trouble.
A contentious line call gave Murray two break points at 5-5, and although Nadal saved one, he fired long at the end of a super rally on the next point. Murray closed out the contest on his second match point, with Nadal flinging a full-throttle backhand long,
"It's been special to be back in competition," Nadal said in an on-court interview. "At the same time, it's been a while since we played against each other. I'm super happy to see Andy playing at this great level after all the things he went through.
"For me, as a comeback it was not a bad match for me. It's been a long time since I was out on court in a professional match so I've got positive feelings."
These wily old rivals had met 24 times previously at competitive tour level, all of those encounters coming between 2007 and 2016 with Nadal leading 17-7 in the head-to-head.
Nadal won the ATP's comeback player of the year award way back in 2013, and he finds himself looking to prove himself again in 2022, locked together on 20 slams with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Murray, who has won three slams but also been a runner-up eight times in the majors, said: "It's great to be back on the court, able to play at a high level again after a very long time. Me and Rafa have played so many tough matches, but we've not played for five or six years.
"That shows both of us have gone through lots of injury troubles and issues, and it's great to just have the opportunity to be on the court with him again.
"Certainly when I was younger I wasn't appreciating it as much as I do now. It's great to be back on the court, I'm so happy that Rafa's back, and I look forward to the next few years."
Murray will play Andrey Rublev for the title on Saturday, while Nadal features again too, taking on Denis Shapovalov in a third-place match.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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